England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements from captain Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added he. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
